Vacations' in the US
by ARfan
Summary: Alex spends his summer vacation not with his friends but with K-Unit to train with the US Navy Seals.But are the soldiers there happy to be with him? R
1. Chapter 1

'**VACATIONS' IN THE US**

Alex Rider was bored. It was his 2nd month in Brookland Comprehensive after his recent mission and he was now sitting in basic French language class. Well, he had already learnt French when he was 8 and now could speak fluent French without any trace of accent. And now he was in a class where Mr. Smith was teaching basic phrases. He had already dozed off 3 times in the class only to be shaken awake by his best friend, Tom and had also received an angry glare from Mr. Smith.

He didn't mind the glare. He had received much worse during his past missions. From being thrown in a tank with a Man 'o' War, getting chased by mad men to getting shot by a Scorpia sniper…

'No! Don't think about your missions, Alex. You are here safer and happier with your normal life', Alex told himself.

Well, speaking of normal life, Alex got reminded about the 'Bank'. He wondered if his employers had at last thought for his betterment by leaving him alone. He did not expect much from Mr. Blunt. He always visualized him as a cold hearted man with no emotions.

Mrs. Jones was bit better than him. With her sparks of motherly instincts, Alex thought, 'Maybe she had convinced Mr. Blunt to leave him alone'.

'Mr. Rider!' Mr. Smith exclaimed, 'Would you please care to come out of your _lovely and beautiful _dreamland?'

Alex shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Lovely? Beautiful? He let out a sigh and waited for the school bell to ring.

RING!

'The torture ends at last', thought Alex.

'ALEX!'

Alex turned around and smiled seeing Tom running towards him and halted.

'Did you check out the notice board?'

Alex raised an eyebrow and asked, 'Since when did you care about notice boards? You always regarded notice boards as the most boring places in earth'.

'Well, since the time when they have decided to let us have early summer vacations', Tom smiled, 'Due to heat wave the school has decided to have some pity on us _poor _students. I guess global warming has some advantages'

'Tom! Do you realize what are you blabbering? You regard global warming as a good thing!' Alex let out an exasperated sigh. Some people never change.

'Oh! Never mind. So, what are your plans this summer?' Tom asked while they walked out of the school gates.

As if answering his questions on cue, they noticed a man in black suit screaming MI6 Agent standing by a black car. On seeing Alex he signaled him to come with him to the Royal and General Bank.

He sent the agent a glare and remarked, 'It seems MI6 have their own plans for me this vacation.'

'Well, this would be the second consecutive vacation that they are spoiling. Why don't you ask them to leave you alone for at least this vacation?'

'If this was possible, I would have denied. But they control my whole life. If I refuse they would start blackmailing me.'

Tom nodded understandingly and bid goodbye to him. He watched until he disappeared out of sight and let out a sigh deciding to go with the agent.

'CAN'T YOU GUYS JUST LEAVE ME ALONE? START RECRUITING NEW WILLING AGENTS FOR YOUR CRAZY MISSIONS!', Alex yelled after getting inside the car.

'It is not a mission', the agent blankly replied.

'Then why are they calling me?'

'Patience is a virtue, Mr. Rider. You find out after reaching the bank.'

Deciding that he would not get any productive answer from the agent, he sank into the plush leather seats and stared out of the window waiting to reach the place he hated the most.

* * *

It took 15 minutes to reach the destination and Alex found himself sitting in front of the heads of MI6.

'What do you want me to do?' Alex asked at last.

Noting a slight twitch in the corners of his mouth, Alex decided that Mr. Blunt was indeed _trying_ to smile.

'Straight to the point. I appreciate that. The 2 months break you have received has helped you to think in a sensitive way.'

Alex just glared at him.

'Coming to the point, a few days ago there was a meeting between the heads of security of Britain and the US. They came to a conclusion that it would be more helpful if military methods and training are shared amongst the two nations.'

Mrs. Jones continued Blunt's monologue, 'A few days ago the US army sent some of its best soldiers and agents for training in the SAS. Now, it's our turn to send our best agents and army units to train with the Navy Seals. Navy seals have the best training when it comes to amphibious environment.'

Alex started to have a bad feeling about this and asked, 'Why are you telling me all this?'

'Because we are going to send you as one of the members of the team.'

'WHAT? You can't be serious! You must be kidding!'

'We never make jokes, Alex.' Blunt bluntly replied. 'We are serious, and you will be sent with 4 other men tomorrow morning.'

Alex let out a groan and asked, 'So, who are the 4 other men'

Blunt smiled, 'You are going to train with the K-unit'.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! I'm back! Thanks to ALBANY, DammitimmaD, once-bitten-twilight-smitten, Jasper K and SlinkiesKickGrass for their wonderful reviews and suggestions. I will try my best to follow your suggestions.

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_Mrs. Jones continued Blunt's monologue, 'A few days ago the US army sent some of its best soldiers and agents for training in the SAS. Now, it's our turn to send our best agents and army units to train with the Navy Seals. Navy seals have the best training when it comes to amphibious environment.'_

_Alex started to have a bad feeling about this and asked, 'Why are you telling me all this?'_

'_Because we are going to send you as one of the members of the team.'_

'_WHAT? You can't be serious! You must be kidding!'_

'_We never make jokes, Alex.' Blunt bluntly replied. 'We are serious, and you will be sent with 4 other men tomorrow morning.' _

_Alex let out a groan and asked, 'So, who are the 4 other men?'_

_Blunt smiled, 'You are going to train with the K-unit'. _

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* * *

Life couldn't just get any worse. First, his vacations were spoilt and now he had to train with the men who had made his life difficult in Brecon Beacons._

And now he was in a plane to US with the members of K-unit: Wolf, Eagle, Snake and Fox (an ex-member actually, as he was an MI6 agent at present).

_He was sitting in the bank's lobby wearing military fatigues, waiting for the unit members to arrive. After waiting for about 10 minutes, they arrived and the first reaction was pretty amusing for him._

'_Cub? What the hell are you doing here?' was Wolf's first reaction seeing Alex._

'_Nice to meet you too Wolf.' Alex said rolling his eyes._

'_Ha! Well, let me see, you have grown up since our last meeting.' Eagle smiled._

'_Yeah. Much to the displeasure of Blunt' Alex muttered._

'_You know Mr. Blunt?' Snake's surprised voice rang through the lobby behind Alex._

'_Yes'_

'You didn't answer my question, Cub' Wolf growled sitting inside the plane.

Alex sighed. 'Well, I was asked to join your unit to the training exercise in the US. Weren't you told?'

'No.' Fox replied.

'We were told that we were to train with an MI6 agent. You work with the MI6?' Eagle couldn't hide the surprise out of his voice.

'Yes'

All of the K-unit stared at Alex gapingly except Fox. Sadly Wolf noticed Fox's unsurprised demeanor and growled:

'You knew this. Right?'

Fox smiled sheepishly, 'Yes'

'And you didn't care to tell us?' Snake practically hissed.

'umm.. because you didn't ask me. Besides I'm not allowed to…err.. you know… classified stuff.'

A growl came out of Wolf as he muttered, 'I have never been able to understand these agents and their _classified_ stuff'

* * *

After about 12 hours, they landed in California from where a jeep was waiting for them to take them to the training centre. It was a 2 hour drive to the camp. Upon reaching their destination, they were called to the office of the Drill Instructor (DI).

'Who is this boy? What is he doing here?' Was the DI's first reaction on seeing Alex.

Alex had to resist rolling his eyes. He was now seriously thinking of holding a placard saying: _'Hello I am Alex Rider and I work for MI6. As to why ask Blunt, not_ _me.'_

Wolf being the unit leader answered for Alex, 'Sir, he is Cub. He is an MI6 agent.'

'MI6 agent? He is hardly fifteen! What were your employers thinking before sending you here? This is not a playground. This a place where even the toughest soldiers cry. Did you have any training before?'

'Yes. With SAS for about 10 days.', was Alex's quiet reply.

'You might have been able to manage for 10 days. Let's see how you are going to endure the next 2 months. Don't think I would pull it easy because you are just a boy. I don't want to lower my soldiers' standards by being easy to you. It's your job to decide how to cope up with them.' The DI sneered.

'Yes Sir.' Alex decided this man was even worse than the sergeant in Brecon Beacons. At least At Brecon Beacons, he was given some relaxation by the sergeant.

'Good. Now that we have made all things clear, you may move to your barracks. I'm sending a soldier with you to show all the arrangements. Take some rest. It will be necessary. Your training shall begin from tomorrow morning.'

Taking it as a dismissal, Alex and the rest of the members filed out of the room. After they reached the barracks, Eagle was the first one to break the silence.

'So, how did you get roped into this job?'

'Classified' was the only reply he received from Alex.

'Aww Cub.. Come on tell us.'

'Did you just whine?' Alex smirked.

Eagle mock-glared at Alex saying,'You are a brat really!'

Alex just grinned.

During the dinner, they were introduced to the rest of the soldiers with whom they were to train. As Alex expected, the soldiers weren't happy to see him.

Review please. It's due to your reviews that I'm inspired to write more. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Everyone! I'm back with the third installment of **_**'Vacations' in the US.**_** Thanks for you reviews. It seems everyone is enjoying the holiday season. I'm feeling jealous of you guys! It's Exam Season in our place. We are spending most of our time with our books. Luckily we got about 8 days gap before our next paper. So, I think I can take out some time to celebrate the New Year. Really, the education department in our country is so mean! Anyway, I took some time out from my studies and wrote the third chapter. So, here is the next chapter: **

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There were about twenty soldiers who were to train with K-unit plus Alex. These were the US Navy men who were aspiring to get into the most elite Special Force regiment in the US. They were to train for 6 months whereas as the 5 member team was to train for only 2 months with them as they already belonged to the SAS Special Force and were there for a 'refreshment' course in Navy Seal techniques. The 20 soldiers were divided into four 5-member units namely units 1, 2, 3 and 4.

When the K-unit entered the mess hall, they noted that the hall was still empty and none of the units had still arrived. They decided to wait for them. As the K-unit started talking amongst themselves, Alex just couldn't participate in their conversation. He couldn't help thinking about the reaction the soldiers would have seeing him. Fox aka Ben noticed his discomfort.

'Feeling nervous?'

'No, just imagining the reactions of the soldiers after they see me.'

'They won't be so bad'

'Yeah. I hope not as bad as you lot were.' Alex replied sending a glare to Wolf.

'Oh come on! Now we are good to you. And moreover, there's nothing to worry about, everyone knows here that you are not any teenager. You are a MI6 agent. So, I don't think they would be rough on you.'

Shortly after, the units started filing in. Noticing their shocked expressions, Alex realised that these soldiers were only informed that a five member team would train with them not that one of them was a fourteen years old boy.

Seeing that all the units had already arrived and started walking towards the food counter, Wolf decided that they should now move to have their food. Alex followed the K-unit towards the counter trailing behind when he felt a strong hand squeezing his shoulder painfully. Snake noticed this and started approaching when Alex shook his head slightly assuring him that he could handle this.

Slowly he turned around and wearing a neutral mask on his face coolly asked the burly soldier.

'Yes?'

'Who the hell are you?' The soldier (who he later identified as James looking into his badge) rudely asked.

'Cub.' Alex replied shortly and started moving towards the counter when he was stopped again by James.

'Why are you here?'

'To picnic here. This is a lovely place. Isn't it?' came Alex's sarcastic reply irritated by the soldier's dumb question.

Hearing this, the snide face that the soldier held turned into a hard glare.

'Think you are funny? This is no place for kids like you. Here the toughest soldiers train.'

'Oh really? I started to doubt the fact after seeing you.' Alex snapped, now he was really irritated as he was feeling very hungry by now.

Hearing this, James snarled and lunged towards Alex in rage. Seeing the attack coming, he immediately stepped into full combat mode and blocked his punch by grabbing his arm. He then twisted James' arm behind the soldier's back and kept on twisting until he sweared out of pain and fell on his knees..

Alex then placed his knee on the soldier's back and leaning to his ear, he hissed, 'Look , I don't understand what is the problem with you. I am in the right place and I don't like my dinner being interrupted just because of your silly childish remarks. If you don't like me, stay away from me. It would be good for both of us.' And then with a final cruel twist he released his arm. Massaging his bruised arm, James glared at Alex and moved towards his unit who were also glaring at the teenager promising revenge for hurting their unit member. Rest of the soldiers just stared at Alex at his little display.

Alex just sighed realizing that he won't be ever left alone and took his food gobbling away as fast as he could so that he could escape their stares. Seeing this Fox smirked.

'You really soak in attention Cub.' At this Snake and Eagle chuckled and Wolf smiled.

Having a mouthful of food, he couldn't retort, so he just narrowed his eyes at his unit members.

After finishing his dinner, he decided that if he stayed in mess hall any longer, he would just go crazy. So, he stood up and started leaving the mess hall. Seeing this, Wolf also stood up and others following the lead, they also walked out of the mess hall.

* * *

Meanwhile, the news of the clash between Alex and James reached the DI's ears. Hearing the news, the DI was agitated and called Alex to his office.

'WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU UP TO BOY?' He barked, 'This was your first day here and you decided to create ruckus in the mess hall.'

'He provoked me, Sir.'

'So, You attacked him?'

'No, I was the one who was attacked.'

'Don't lie to me boy. He has a bruised and nearly dislocated arm and you are unscathed. It is clear that you attacked him. All his unit members said this to me.'

'But…'

'SHUT UP! You speak only after I give you permission to do so. Is that clear?'

'Yes Sir.' Alex replied quietly.

'Now, speaking of your little display in the mess hall, attacking a fellow soldier is a serious offence here and the culprit is promptly kicked out of this camp. Since this is your first day, I will not do so. But you will be punished and after that you will apologize to James. Is that understood?'

'Yes Sir'

'Report to Field no. 3 at 0430 hours tomorrow. We will discuss your punishment there.'

Sensing the dismissal, Alex quietly moved out. He now realized this was James' unit's idea of revenge. And now he knew that if his time in Brecon Beacons was bad, this was just going to be worse.

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**Review! Your reviews inspire me to write more and that too during exam time…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everybody! I'm back! My exams finished yesterday and now I'm free for some time until my classes start. Enjoy the fourth installment of **_**'Vacations' in the US **_**and review.**

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'_Now, speaking of your little display in the mess hall, attacking a fellow soldier is a serious offence here and the culprit is promptly kicked out of this camp. Since this is your first day, I will not do so. But you will be punished and after that you will apologize to James. Is that understood?'_

'_Yes Sir'_

'_Report to Field no. 3 at 0430 hours tomorrow. We will discuss your punishment there.'_

_Sensing the dismissal, Alex quietly moved out. He now realized this was James' unit's idea of revenge. And now he knew that if his time in Brecon Beacons was bad, this was just going to be worse._

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While returning to the barracks, Alex looked at his watch and noticed that it was already 11pm and he had less than six hours to sleep before his punishment. He was already very tired and decided to go to bed immediately. Wolf, Fox, Snake and Eagle were playing cards. He quietly sneaked up to his bed without alerting them and within a few minutes he was fast asleep.

_Alex was shackled to the ceiling and was facing Zeljan Kurst who was grinning ear to ear pleased to have him as his captive at last. _

'_Oh Alex! You thought you would be able to hide from us? Scorpia never forgives, never forgets. You were able to escape death from a sniper but this time I guarantee you that you will die a painful death.' He sneered, 'No one's even there to save you little Alex because you will die in front of me screaming and writhing in agony' _

_He then proceeded towards Alex with a jar in his hand. Alex noticed with horror that he was going to be bitten by a scorpion. Smiling at him, Kurst released the scorpion over his shoulder blade and jerked it. Infuriated, the scorpion sunk his tail in his blades releasing the poison._

_With tears in his eyes, Alex bit his lips to keep from screaming. After about fifteen minutes, with the poison rapidly spreading through his blood stream, he couldn't hold back any more and he screamed._

With a jolt, Alex sat upright on his cot and scanned the surroundings. Yup, it was only a nightmare. A horrible nightmare. He then realized that his body was dripping in sweat and was breathing heavily. Realising that he wouldn't be able to sleep any more, he looked at his watch. **3.30 am.** He had still an hour before his reporting time to field no. 3.

He decided to hit the shower as he was feeling really sticky due to the sweat.

After standing under the cold showers for a few minutes, he felt relatively fresh. Seeing that he had half an hour to spare, he slipped into his uniform and jogged to field no.3. Upon reaching the grounds, the first thing he noticed was that field no. 3 was by the seaside and had a very long sandy stretch. He sat and waited for the DI watching the waves hitting the land.

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After some time, he spotted the DI coming. He looked at his watch. It was sharp 4.30. He stood in attention waiting for the DI's orders.

'Had a good sleep?' the DI asked noticing bags under his eyes.

Reminded about nightmare, Alex decided to lie.

'Yes Sir.'

Deciding not to push the subject, the DI said, 'Good. Now that you have rested well, let's get straight to the point about why you are here. Do you realize that attacking a fellow soldier is a very serious offence?'

Sighing Alex replied, 'Yes Sir.'

'You will apologize to James in front of all the soldiers present in the mess hall at breakfast after your punishment. Is that clear?'

'Yes Sir'

'Good. Now start running towards the waters and do not stop until I say so.'

Nodding Alex jogged toward the sea. As soon as his legs touched the freezing water, he could not suppress the shiver. Braving the cold water, he kept on running. As soon as the water reached upto his chest, the DI ordered him to stop.

Alex couldn't help but chatter his teeth in cold. Unfortunately the DI noticed this and sneered, 'Can't handle a bit of cold, boy? You will be much colder than this for the most of the time over the next two months. Now take a nice dip in the water and come back.'

As soon as Alex left the water, cool wind hit him making him shiver more in cold. He had never been so cold in his life.

After coming out of the water, the DI decided to 'warm' him up by ordering him to do a series of push-ups, sit-ups and sprints over the sand. After an hour or so, his calf muscles were burning like hell due to continuous running over the sands. Just when he started to feel that he was about to drop in exhaustion, the DI ordered him to stop.

'Walk around a bit. It'll help to reduce the cramps.' The DI advised. Though he still did not like having a boy in the training centre, still he was mildly impressed by the teenager's stamina.

After walking around for some time, Alex's heavy breathing reduced a bit. But still, he was shivering out of cold, considering he was still dripping wet.

'You have 10 minutes before your training exercise starts. Go have some breakfast. You will need it. And don't forget to apologise to James. If you do not apologise, I will hear it and believe me it would be lot more worse than today's little exercise. Is that understood?'

Alex sighed, 'Yes Sir.'

'Dismissed'

* * *

Realising that he had less than 10 minutes before his classes start, he swore and half limping and half running, he rushed towards the mess hall without changing his wet uniform.

Upon reaching the mess hall, he saw that all the soldiers along with the k-unit were present. As he entered, he bit back a groan when the soldiers stared at his wet and tired appearance and started whispering among themselves, some of them smirking at his direction. Even the K-unit members who were not aware of his episode with the DI, were surprised.

Taking a deep breath he walked towards James and his unit to apologise.

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Review please! Reviews make me happy. :)


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